Disney theme parks reverse beard ban

The Disney theme parks will let their male employees look a little more like one of Snow White’s seven dwarves — at least when it comes to facial hair.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Walt Disney Co. announced that male employees will be allowed to sport beards and goatees after a 60 year ban.

The new policy, which takes effect Feb. 3, eliminates a facial-hair ban that has for decades been a source of grumbling among some of the company’s male theme-park workers.

Disney’s new policy restricts any facial hair to no more than a quarter of an inch in length. And the company says any chin whiskers “must create an overall neat, polished and professional look” and must be fully grown in and well-groomed.

The reversal comes 12 years after the Magical Kingdom first allowed male workers to have mustaches, a decision made in 2000.